Big Sister Lucy
by Kayla the kawaii gurl
Summary: All she wanted to do was help young girls follow their dreams and find themselves. She never thought that she would be gaining a little sister and much, much more. AU NaLu!
1. Chapter 1

**KTKG Says: **So… this just popped up in my head as an idea and I decided to run with it. Don't worry, I'll still be updating **Desperate Times** at regular intervals. I just wanted to get this out and see what you guys thought about it. Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with the characters of Fairy Tail, they belong to Hiro Mashima. I just own the idea for this story.

**Chapter One**

Mondays were the worst for her.

She always woke up feeling as if she were hung-over, like she had over-indulged in her laziness the night before, and it took her a while to get moving. Two huge cups of coffee loaded with sugar and cream and a donut on the side normally had her up and out the door.

Today was not one of those days.

"Ugh… Mondays suck so hard." Lucy Heartfilia was currently pouring herself her fourth cup of coffee that morning and it was only nine-thirty. Practically dragging herself back to her office, she plopped down in her chair and blinked blearily at her computer screen as she began to check her email. She loved her job, really she did, it just took a toll on her sometimes. After all, weekends were for relaxation, not work. Apparently they failed to tell her in college that owning your own business meant you had no weekends to yourself. Ever.

Taking a healthy gulp of the warm liquid in her cup, Lucy sighed happily as she was finally feeling the caffeine buzz she'd been chasing since she woke up that morning. Ah, coffee, her best friend. Well, her second she supposed. Speaking of which, the first one had just burst through her door.

"Lucy!"

Lucy smiled as she set her mug down, reclining in her seat as her best friend Levy McGarden settled down in one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. "You look like you're still asleep." Lucy giggled along with her friend, stealing another sip of her drink as she replied "I honestly feel like I still am."

Levy, her right-hand woman, had been her best friend for ages. The two met in high school, in the book club of all things, and had been almost attached at the hip ever since. When he decided to start her program, Levy had been there from the beginning with her. Together, they ran a girl's mentoring program for girls in middle school on up through college. They helped with tutoring, high school and college selection, as well as generally helping girls become more confident in themselves. Really, she just wanted to help young women make their academic and occupational dreams come true.

She had first got the idea when her and Levy were still in high school. Without her mother there, she had had a really hard time trying to figure out what she wanted to do. Her father, ever the business man, pushed her to get a business degree to carry on the family company. Lucy decided instead that she wanted to start her own. She would be damned if she would carry on that man's work legacy…

"Lu-chan. Wake up."

Lucy blinked herself back to reality at the sound of the blue-haired woman's voice. Smiling in apology, she surveyed her friend for a moment. Levy was dressed in a form-fitting orange shirt with a relaxed pair of dark blue jeans. In her hands she held a manila envelope.

"What's that?"

Levy looked down at her hands briefly before tossing the whole thing on Lucy's desk. "It's just some applications and some files of girls who are still needing to be paired up with someone." Lucy picked up the folder and flipped through its contents quickly before setting it back down. "Is this the only reason you stopped in?" Levy smiled at her and Lucy paled. She knew what that smile meant.

"I get to pick where we eat today for lunch, right?"

Lucy only sighed in defeat as a response. Levy only ever wanted to go to one place for one reason and one reason only. "Fine, but remember we only have an hour this time. I'm not paying you to ogle men." Levy only laughed as she practically pranced out of her office. "I'll see you in a couple of hours!" Lucy shook her head. Levy could be very special when she wanted to be.

She took a sip of her now lukewarm coffee and began going through the profiles on her desk. She was glad that her business was pretty popular, but she was afraid that it was becoming _too_ popular as she had more mentees than mentors at the moment. She frowned slightly at the thought. She would have to get some more funding to fix that and soon. Downing the rest of her drink she set herself to work dividing the papers in front of her into separate piles.

Application…application…waiting list.

Waiting list…application…application.

Waiting list…waiting list…waiting list. Ugh.

Yeah, she really had to do something about getting more mentors; her pile of girls needing to be assigned was a bit ridiculous.

A frown made its way to her face once again as she stared at the last profile in her hands.

The picture attached to the piece of paper was initially what had made her pause. Shy, brown eyes peered back at her, almost hidden by deep blue bangs. The smile that adorned the petite face was also equally as shy. Lucy couldn't help but smile as she remembered when she sported a similar look herself.

Above the picture there was a neon-pink posted note attached; the second thing that made her pause. Scrawled with permanent marker in block letters across it was the word 'RE-ASSIGN.' Her eyes quickly scanned the page to see who she had been originally assigned to and she sighed when she found it. She should have known that wasn't going to work.

Picking up the phone, she placed the paper flat on her desk as her fingers deftly dialed the needed numbers. The phone rang a couple of times before stopping and a muffled voice greeted her. At least, she hoped it was a greeting. What actually came back over the line at her sounded like a pained groan. "Hey Cana, it's Lucy."

"There better be a good reason for this call Lucy, I was taking a break."

Mentally, Lucy sighed. If Mondays were the worst for her, they were absolutely downright atrocious for her dear friend Cana Alberona. "Did you hang out with Macao and his friend again last night?" Another pained moan reached her ears and Lucy winced. While Lucy always felt like she was hung-over most Mondays, Cana actually _was_. She could just imagine the poor woman lying face down on her desk at the moment. "Alright, I'll make this quick. What's up with the request for a reassignment?"

There was a pause and Lucy sighed. She couldn't have possibly forgotten already, could she? "Name?" Okay, maybe she had.

"Wendy Dragneel."

There was another sigh, this time from Cana, and some shifting noises in the background. Either she was sitting up or putting her head in a more comfortable position. "Oh yeah, Wendy. Can't do her." Lucy was silent as more shifting noises came through. "You know I'm not good with anyone under seventeen. She needs someone else with more patience. Besides, her guardian was a pain in the ass."

Lucy looked over the picture again and leaned back in her seat, resisting the urge to kick her feet up. "Okay Cana, I'll let you off the hook and find you someone else. Please tell me you were at least nice to the poor girl."

There was a snort then a reply of "of course."

Lucy really hoped she was telling the truth.

They said their good-byes, Lucy making sure Cana was actually able to do some work today, and then hung up. Lucy sat in silence as she contemplated what to do. Cana honestly was better suited for one of the college aged girls in her pile, so that problem was already solved. The problem now was finding someone for little Wendy.

She didn't want to leave the girl without someone, but finding a replacement could take a while and they were short staffed right now. She really didn't want to have her sitting around wondering why she was dumped all of a sudden either as that would leave poor Wendy with a bad experience with her program. There was only really one option left, and Lucy was just going to have to go with it.

She was going to be Wendy's mentor and hopefully give her the best experience possible.

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KTKG Says: Okay, and there you have it. Thanks for reading! Do you like it so far? Are you interested in seeing more for this story? Let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

KTKG Says: I'm so happy you guys are interested in this! Here's the next chapter that's hopefully going to keep your interest! And always remember, I do NOT own Fairy Tail.

**Chapter Two**

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"…really?"

Lucy let out a laugh as she placed her hand on the shoulder of the smaller girl standing beside her, bending down slightly to her level as her laughter calmed down. "Wendy, it's fine. Go ahead and pick out any book you want. I promised you didn't I? Not to mention you deserve it!" The smile that slowly crept on the younger girl's face triggered a matching one on Lucy's face.

Slowly, the smile bloomed into a full-blown grin as Wendy nodded and took off down one of the many isles of the bookstore, leaving a satisfied Lucy behind. Once she was convinced that the girl would be a while in selecting her book, the blonde wandered over to a vacant table and sat down, pulling out her phone and sorting through her emails.

Thank goodness for Levy.

When she had told Levy a couple of weeks ago what her plan was for the young girl, her friend had been right on board with it and helped to pick up some of the responsibilities so Lucy could be free. Levy had said the experience would be beneficial; not only for Wendy, but for Lucy herself as well. Lucy wasn't sure about that last part, but she was determined to be the best benefit she could be for young Wendy.

So far, everything seemed to be going okay. She would meet with her twice a week on Tuesday and Friday to see how things were going with her and to help her with anything she needed. For the past couple of weeks, they had been working on an astronomy project, which just so happened to be a subject that Lucy excelled in. Needless to say, Lucy had been more excited about the project than Wendy had at first, but she liked to think she had rubbed off on the girl by the end of it. Wendy had been practically jumping up and down when they met last Monday with her high-ranking grade in her hand. The sight was a far cry from the girl she had first met weeks ago.

At twelve, Wendy was a very quiet and polite child, something that Lucy had gathered initially just from looking at her picture. What she hadn't been aware of was just how shy and polite the girl actually was. It took the first week and a half for Wendy to stop calling her 'Heartfilia-san' and feel comfortable enough with her to go somewhere else besides the school. Like this bookstore for instance, although this was as far as they got. It wasn't really all Wendy though, as Lucy's time restraints didn't really allow her to spend time with her outside of regular school club hours.

"Lucy-san!"

She looked up to see the young girl running towards her with what looked like more than one book in her hand. Smiling, Lucy motioned to the empty seat across from her, which Wendy gladly plopped down into. The books in her hands spilled across the tabletop and Lucy couldn't help her smile spreading even further across her face. The girl really did have a thing for books, which was great in her opinion since that was one more thing she had in common with her mentee.

"You've got quite a haul there. Couldn't decide on just one?"

Wendy gave her a sheepish smile in return, her face reddening slightly with embarrassment as she nodded. "They just… looked so interesting!" The younger girl gave an exasperated sigh to further illustrate her frustration. Giggling, Lucy leaned forward and picked up the three books one by one, examining each cover and reading the synopsis on the back.

If she had to be honest, it seemed like a hard pick for even herself. The choices were so broad and interesting she could see why Wendy was having a hard time. One was about a disease that killed people but brought them back from the dead at the same time. Another one was about a young boy who is raised by spirits in a graveyard. The last book she looked over looked like it was a romance about vampires, which led Lucy to one conclusion; paranormal was the new thing for young adults. Still, she had to agree that they were all equally interesting.

"So… I guess there's only one thing to do."

Wendy looked up, clearly surprised at Lucy's sudden comment. Smiling at the girl's confused look, Lucy scooped up all three of the books off the table and headed towards the front of the store. "Looks like I'm just going to have to buy you all three!" The smile that lit up the girl's face was priceless and Lucy could see why her employees loved doing this job.

"Are you sure?"

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. The girl had been asking her that ever since she had suggested they shop for books. Nodding in response, she wasn't prepared for the shy girl's arms that suddenly wrapped around her and squeezed. "Oh thank you Lucy-san!"

The young girl practically skipped up to the register, a giggling Lucy following closely behind.

They really had to work on that 'Lucy-san' thing though.

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"So, how's it going with your assignment?"

Lucy looked up from her paperwork to see Cana standing in her office doorway. In her hands was the largest cup of coffee that she's ever seen. Honestly, she didn't even know that they made a cup that large. The steaming hot liquid in her hands and the amount of it could only mean one thing. She had been out drinking the night before.

"Really Cana? It's Thursday morning."

Cana chose to ignore the comment as she moved into the room and sat herself down on one of the seats across from the office's owner. "You didn't answer my question Juicy-Lucy." Lucy cringed at the nickname while leaning back in her seat since it was obvious Cana wasn't going anywhere. Sighing, she took a sip of her own coffee that was now cold.

"It's going good actually."

Cana smirked, mimicking Lucy's actions by taking a cautionary sip of her own coffee. "Have you met her guardian yet?" Lucy didn't know if she liked the look on her friend's face.

"No, I haven't met him yet. Actually I haven't even talked to him."

The shocked look on Cana's face was priceless, especially since it rarely ever showed on her face. Lucy was almost tempted to snap a picture of it with her phone.

"You haven't even talked to him yet?!" Cana scoffed when Lucy shook her head. "Are you serious? I got the third degree from him within the first twenty-four hours of being her mentor!" Lucy only shrugged in response.

It was strange to her as well, if she had to admit it. She had heard all of the stories from the various mentors Wendy had previously had. Unbeknownst to her, Wendy had actually been passed around to different mentors before coming to her. The reason being her guardian was apparently the epitome of over-protective parent. Surprisingly, though, she hadn't seen or heard from him since Wendy came into her care almost a month ago. Maybe that was about to change though, seeing as she was planning something that would require his permission.

"Well, aren't you a lucky duck. I'm guessing you haven't tried to take her anywhere past school club hours yet huh?"

Lucy nodded and the smirk was back on Cana's face. Lucy was about to ask her what that look was all about when the phone on her desk rang, startling her a bit. Glaring at the woman across from her, she picked up the phone and answered.

"Good morning, Layla's Angels, Lucy speaking."

Whatever she had been expecting, the strong tenor voice that answered on the other end of the line was not it.

"Natsu Dragneel. You called me?"

For some reason, Lucy felt her cheeks heat up as the voice finished echoing in her head. She must have been quiet for longer than she thought as the voice spoke up once again, this time with irritation. "Hello?"

"Oh, um… yes! Mr. Dragneel! How are you?"

In the brief moment of silence, she heard Cana snickering across from her.

"I'm fine. What did you want to talk to me about? What's going on with my sister?"

Lucy's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline at the pushiness and annoyance in his tone. Not to mention the fact that she now knew he was Wendy's older _brother_. Her eyes reconnected with Cana's for a minute only to find them sparkling with mirth.

Maybe there was some truth to Cana's words.

"Uh, there's nothing going on with your sister, she's wonderful really. Actually, I'm her new mentor. She's done a really good job on a project we worked on recently and I was wondering if it was alright for me to take her out to celebrate."

She held her breath as she waited for him to answer. She knew that Wendy didn't really get out much, as the girl had confided in her with that bit of information on the way home earlier that week. She really wanted this to be a surprise, but the way her brother sounded…

"Alright Luigi–"

"Lucy."

"Right. You can take her. I just want to know when, where, and what time you're going to have her home."

She paused briefly, surprised that he had agreed although granted, he wasn't making this easy. Still, she was excited that he had agreed, so she answered him as quickly as he had fired the questions at her. "Tomorrow, the movies and dinner downtown, and I'll have her home by nine at the latest." He seemed to be pleased with her answers as he gave her an approving grunt in response.

"Alright Luigi, I'm holding you to this."

"It's LUCY!"

The click in her ear told her that he didn't hear her response as he had just hung up on her. Shocked, she pulled the receiver away and looked at it for a moment before placing it back on the cradle. Cana's laughter brought her back to reality.

"And it begins! I'm telling you Lucy, you better quit now while you're ahead. That conversation looked brutal from just the look on your face, and I promise you it won't get any better."

She rose from her seat, her once full mug of coffee now empty and clutched in one hand as Lucy set her face in an expression that Cana knew all too well. Determination.

"Don't say I didn't warn you~!"

With that, Cana was out of the door and down the hall, the clicking of her heels echoing in Lucy's office.

Lucy, on the other hand didn't really pay attention to what Cana was saying. There was no way that she was going to let some bossy older brother be the reason she stopped being Wendy's mentor. She was determined to stay with Wendy as she was just getting to know her and so far liked what she saw.

In an attempt to distract herself from what just happened, Lucy turned to her computer and started going over some of the advertising Levy had emailed her for their program. After a while, she felt herself calm down a bit and noticed that it was time for her to meet Levy for lunch.

Grabbing her coat, she headed out of her office and down the hall towards the elevator, her mind now more focused on her work.

Still, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help thinking about how sexy his voice had been and hoped he looked as good as he sounded in person.

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KTKG Says: Okay, so what do you think? Still interested? REVIEW! Cupcakes to whoever can figure out the books mentioned in this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

KTKG Says: I do NOT own Fairy Tail.

**Chapter Three**

"Lucy-san, where are we going?"

Lucy tore her eyes away from the window she was looking out of to look at Wendy's curious but excited face and smiled. The two of them were headed downtown, Wendy seated next to Lucy, on the city's finest form of transportation; the bus. Unfortunately for the both of them, Lucy didn't own a car. It wasn't that she didn't have a license or anything like that, but rather she had dumped her entire car-fund into her program. Although she felt that at twenty-three she should at least have some form of transportation to call her own, she was starting to believe she had made the right choice with where her money should have gone.

"Well, you know how you did really well on that project you had?" Slowly, Wendy nodded. "Well, I thought that it would be nice if we celebrated! I was thinking dinner and a movie. Both of which you get to choose of course." She watched as the young girl's eyes widened in surprise. She saw the corners of her mouth twitch, like they were going to spread into a smile but stop when her eyebrows met in what Lucy came to know as slight apprehension. "Are you sure Lucy-san?"

Ugh. Again with the questioning and formalities. Lucy really had to get the young girl to loosen up and quick before she lost her mind. Really, she was making her feel like an old woman every time she attached '-san' to her name.

"Yes, I'm sure and please, just call me Lucy." When Wendy looked like she wasn't too keen on accepting the request, Lucy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, her smile a light and gentle one. "I'm not an authority figure demanding you're full respect, I'm just here to help you. Whether it's advice you may need or you just want to bounce ideas off of me about schools or even what you want to wear to a dance, that's what I'm here for. Think of me as… well, a sister of sorts."

Wendy was quiet as she thought about what Lucy had said for so long that the blonde started wondering if she had said something wrong. When the a smile finally made it's way to the blue-haired girl's lips, Lucy released a breath she didn't know she had been holding in relief.

"So you're saying you're like my big sister, right?"

This time, it was Lucy's turn to nod slowly in agreement.

"So, that means I can call you Lucy-neesan?" Lucy felt her own smile creep across her face at the question before nodding again for an answer. "Of course you can, but only if I can call you Wendy-chan in return."

The giggle that came her way was infectious and had some of the other passengers on the bus looking at them in question. They quieted down but a snicker or two still managed to escape them. Eventually, the bus pulled over to a stop and Lucy stood, motioning for Wendy to follow her. Once they were off the bus, Lucy threw an arm around Wendy who stiffened instantly but relaxed once Lucy gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Alright Wendy-chan, today is your day! I'm starving so I hope you pick somewhere good."

Laughing lightly, Wendy pointed down a street where the scents of delicious smelling foods were coming from. "There's this place I've heard everyone at school talk about that I wouldn't mind trying…"

With a laugh, Lucy grabbed Wendy by the wrist and tugged her lightly in the direction she had indicated.

"Come on let's go! Remember we still have a movie to catch!"

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Lucy was silently cursing herself as she and Wendy rode along on the almost empty bus, the lights illuminating everything around them while the windows were dark with the lack of daylight outside save for the passing street lights and cars. The fact that it was nighttime wasn't what was bothering her, but rather the actual time.

Wendy's brother was going to kill her.

It was a half hour past the time she said she would have Wendy home and unfortunately for the two of them, she didn't think they would be back at the Dragneel residence any time soon.

The movie had run much longer than she had expected. Wendy had picked a romantic-comedy that Lucy herself had wanted to see, and the two had been so wrapped up in it, she hadn't bothered looking at the time. After what seemed like forever, they finally reached Wendy's stop and the two practically raced off the bus and up the street to the big looming apartment complex sitting on the corner.

Dread filled Lucy once they were inside and only got worse on the elevator ride up to the tenth floor. She had heard stories for Cana and the others at the office about being even ten minutes late with Wendy, so she couldn't imagine what was in store for her since they were well over an hour late. If there was ever an argument for her to start her car-fund back up, this was it.

The dinging of the elevator arriving at their floor broke Lucy out of her thoughts and she had to swallow the lump in her throat as they moved down the hallways. She stood quietly behind Wendy, running through all the possible explanations she could give as the girl quickly and quietly unlocked the door in front of her. When she finally swung the door open, Lucy froze at the silence that greeted them.

No one was home.

Blinking, she gave Wendy a confused look as the girl turned around and gave her an apologetic smile. "Thank you for the night out Lucy-neesan. I really enjoyed it." She then gave the blonde a quick squeeze and turned to go inside before Lucy shot a hand out to stop her.

"Wait, I'm going to sit with you until someone comes home."

Wendy gave her a wide-eyed look before nodding and turning back around to go inside, Lucy not far behind her. She was determined to stay with the young girl. Wendy may be mature for her age, but there was no way Lucy felt comfortable leaving her by herself this late at night.

Besides, she still had to explain herself to Wendy's brother.

Closing the door behind her, Lucy remained in one place while Wendy moved around, turning lights on here and there eventually lighting the place up. The apartment was spacious, much larger than her little-one bedroom on the other side of town. The décor was simple yet modern, the few pieces of furniture she spotted weren't new but looked comfortable and inviting.

She wandered into the living room after removing her shoes as Wendy disappeared down a darkened hallway to what Lucy guessed were the bedrooms. A picture frame on one of the end tables caught her attention and she had to bend down to get a better look at it. The picture was of a man and woman, the man with his arm thrown around what she assumed to be his wife, both with large smiles on their faces. The man had vibrant red hair and the most infectious smile on his face while the woman, who sported light-blue almost silver hair, had a more reserved smile on her face. Upon closer inspection, Lucy noted Wendy looked similar to the woman.

"That's my mom and dad."

Lucy fumbled with the picture frame as she jerked upright with surprise, barely catching the thing before it hit the ground. With slightly shaky hands she placed the photo back where she had originally found it just as Wendy came to her side. Lucy turned to see Wendy looking fondly down at the picture and something about the look struck her.

She knew that look and she knew it well. It was the same look she had when she thought about her own mother.

"Um…" Lucy wasn't sure how to go about asking the question, as this was more than likely a sensitive subject for the girl. She should know though, as Lucy had been there before herself. They had talked a lot at dinner about Wendy, and while Lucy had come to learn about everything from the girl's favorite ice cream (mint chocolate chip) to her life's goal (she wanted to be a nurse), there were some things they hadn't covered. One area they didn't really cover tonight was her family, and now that a portion of it was staring her in the face, Lucy didn't know how to start.

Luckily, Wendy solved that problem for her.

"They passed away seven years ago."

Wendy moved to sit on the adjacent couch, Lucy following shortly after. The girl was now dressed in what Lucy assumed to be sleepwear. She glanced around for a clock and found that it was a bit past eleven now.

Where the hell was her brother?

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the young girl sitting next to her. Cautiously, she said, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to them?"

"They died in a car accident when I was little. My brother has been taking care of me ever since." Wendy didn't go any further than that, and Lucy couldn't blame her. Even though it's been a while, it's still hard to talk about the people you miss the most. Slowly, she reached a hand out and placed it on the girl's knee, catching her attention.

"You know, my mother passed away when I was young too, so I know how you feel."

Anything that Wendy was about to say was cut off as they heard the front door open and close, followed by what could only be tired and heavy footsteps that neared the room they sat in.

"Wendy?"

The deep voice had Lucy freezing in her spot. This was it; she was about to meet Wendy's brother face to face.

She watched, her breath held, as Wendy's brother rounded the corner and came into the room, his head twisting and turning as he looked for his sibling. When his focus finally landed on where they sat on the couch, it took everything in Lucy to keep her mouth from falling open in complete shock.

There, standing a few feet away from her, was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

His pink-colored hair stood up in several spikes in several angles. Normally, she would have laughed at such a hair color on a man, but on him, it seemed to fit and went exceptionally well with his tanned skin. He was dressed in the remnants of a suit, his suit coat draped over an arm that held his brief case. Her eyes travelled down from his face to land right at his neckline, where his dress shirt was unbuttoned just enough to allow her a peek at the beginnings of his chest. His _well-developed_ chest.

Her eyes began to wander once again upwards, as to not be too obvious, and landed on a rather large scar on the side of his neck. Her exploration was cut short however at the sound of him clearing his throat. Her eyes shot back up to his face to find he was glaring at her. Quickly she shot to her feet and gave a slight bow.

"Um, hi. I'm Lucy, Wendy's new mentor. We spoke on the phone the other day."

He didn't even acknowledge her introduction as he gave her a once over, his face completely blank, making her feel a bit self-conscious. She barely kept herself from squirming under his piercing gaze, but somehow she managed, meeting his gaze head on when his eyes finally locked back on hers.

She couldn't, however, help the shiver that ran down her spine.

"You were supposed to have her home at nine."

Her eyebrows shot towards her hairline as she felt anger shoot through her. At first, she had felt bad about not having Wendy home on time, but when she now thought about it, it didn't even matter because he wasn't even home waiting for her. Maybe it was the fact that it was late, and she was tired, but what came out of her mouth next wasn't what she meant to say.

"The movie ran late, but you weren't even home so what's the issue?"

Both of their eyes widened as her reply finished echoing in the room, and Lucy had to quickly look away. She really didn't mean to say that, but the fact that he was mad at her because she didn't have her home on time when he wasn't ever here really got under her skin.

"Don't you think you should be leaving?"

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the statement. Was he kicking her out? He didn't even spare her a glance as he trudged past her and started making his way down the hallway Wendy had went earlier. Despite the way she was feeling, she couldn't help but think the smell that invaded her nostrils as he walked by was absolutely delicious. She shook her head to rid herself of the thought.

It's been way too long since she's been with a man.

Frowning, she walked over to the couch where her coat and purse laid forgotten next to Wendy, who hadn't moved since her brother arrived. "I'm sorry Lucy-san." Lucy frowned at Wendy's switch back to being formal and shook her head. "You don't have anything to apologize for." When Wendy didn't look convinced she continued on, grabbing her things and heading towards the door, Wendy not far behind her.

Once at the entrance, Lucy turned back to Wendy with a smile on her face. "Did you have fun tonight?" The girl nodded, a smile coming back to her face, but it was gone with the next question she fired back at the blonde. "Am I going to see you Tuesday?" The worried look that was plastered on her face caught Lucy off guard and she realized that Wendy was worried she was going to get assigned to someone else again.

Pfft. Like Lucy would let that happen.

"Of course you'll see me Tuesday. We'll have to do this again sometime, ne? We'll just make sure you're home on time." The giggle she received in return made Lucy feel a little better. The hug that came a long with it was even better.

After returning the hug and ruffling Wendy's hair, Lucy said her goodbye and was out the door and down the hall. While waiting for the elevator, she allowed her thoughts to wander as she replayed what had just happened in her mind.

She could see what Cana and the others were talking about now.

While he was gorgeous to look at, his attitude left something to be desired, not to mention the way that he nonchalantly kicked her out. Unlike the others though, Lucy refused to be intimidated by him.

It was just her luck though, that Wendy's brother's face had to match her voice. She had to find a way to not be distracted by it if she was going to stand up to him. A frown made it's way to her face as another thought crossed her mind.

She also really needed a car because whether she liked it or not, his face was going to be haunting her the whole journey home.

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KTKG Says: And that's it for now! I promise Natsu isn't as bad as he seems. If you check in for the next chapter, you'll see what I mean. Thanks for reading and as always, remember to review!


	4. Chapter 4

KTKG Says: Here's a new chapter for those of you who are still interested in this one! Remember, I don't own Fairy Tail!

**Chapter Four**

"Levy? Leeeeevy?"

When Lucy still didn't receive a response, she settled for grabbing a cherry tomato off her long abandoned salad and threw it at the blunette with a flick of her wrist. When the vegetable made contact with the other woman's head, Lucy stifled a giggle at the expression on her companion's face as she turned to look in her direction.

Blinking a couple of times, Levy's face gained a healthy shade of red as she realized she had once again been off in her dream world. Lucy couldn't help the small smile despite her slight irritation as her friend mumbled an apology before going back to her own plate of food.

They really had to find another restaurant to go to. The head chef here was the ultimate distraction for her friend. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it was about the man that had her friend so smitten. Sure, he was tall with long dark hair, however all the piercings just weren't Lucy's thing. She snorted to herself at that last thought.

Like she was one to talk; apparently she was attracted to men with pink hair.

"You ready to go?"

Lucy snapped back to reality to see Levy finishing up the last of the pasta on her plate. Nodding, Lucy stood up and followed Levy to the front where they paid the bill then headed out to where Levy's car was parked. Of course, not before her best friend shyly waved goodbye to the chef.

"You're such a school girl around him!"

Levy let out an embarrassed giggle as she started up the car and pulled out into the street. "I know, I just can't help it! He's so cute to me!" Lucy made a face as the chef and the word 'cute' popped in her head at Levy's statement. Shaking her head, she reclined in her seat a bit as they started making their way back to the office. "I don't think cute is what he's aiming for."

Levy shrugged before taking them up an entrance ramp to the freeway, her cheeks a rosy color. "Okay, enough about that. What happened last week with your kid? What was her name, Wendy? How'd that go?"

Lucy sighed as her mind went back a couple days to the events of last Friday. It wasn't hard to recall the events as she'd been thinking about them over and over again since they happened. But if she had to be honest with herself, she really only kept thinking about a certain someone. Realizing her friend was waiting for an answer, Lucy brought herself back to the present for a moment.

"It went pretty well." She decided to leave it at that, but of course, her friend wanted all the details not matter what the subject was.

"That's it?" Sighing Lucy decided it was better to tell her now than have an entire car ride, as well as the rest of the day with Levy pestering her for the information anyway. "No, that's not all that happened. I finally met Wendy's brother."

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Levy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? You actually met him in person?" They stopped at a red light and Lucy nodded when Levy chanced a glance at her. Lucy could completely understand her surprised expression seeing as Wendy's older brother was something of a legend around the office. People had heard about him, but no one has ever really met him.

"So how is he? Is he cute?"

Lucy turned her head to the side slightly, trying to hide the slight blush on her face when an image of Wendy's brother popped in her head. Even though he had been glaring at her, he was still the sexiest thing she had ever seen, even though his attitude left something to be desired. Speaking of which.

"He's a jerk."

Levy laughed in response, steering them into the parking lot next to their office building. Killing the engine, the two stepped out of the car and into the bright sunlight, taking a moment to shield their eyes from the relentless rays. "From that blush on your face I'm going to go ahead and say that he's a hot jerk, eh?" Lucy remained silent as the two began their trek back to their building, but Levy wasn't done in her teasing yet. "Ooooh, you think he's cuuuuuute! You guys should go on a date or something! Let me meet him so I can get things going!"

"There's no way we're going to hook up. Our first meeting wasn't the best so I highly doubt there will ever be a date between us in the future."

Levy was silent for a moment as they walked before replying, "I'm still going to hook you two up."

"You do that and I'm going to tell that chef of yours that you don't frequent the place for the food but rather to oogle his buns if you know what I mean."

The look on Levy's face had Lucy laughing so hard that she barely registered the person standing in front of her until she ran into them, literally. She regretted wearing heels that day as she felt herself toppling over before a pair of large hands wrapped themselves around her biceps and steadied her.

"Sorry! Are you alright?"

Her eyes popped open to find the man that had been haunting her thoughts for the past five days staring her in the face. His features were schooled into a look of worry and slight embarrassment as he helped her right herself before pulling his hands away. The expression made him look much younger than she remembered and she felt her cheeks heat up when she acknowledged, if only to herself, that it also made him look a lot more handsome than she remembered too. She took a couple of seconds to look him over in appreciation. With the red button up shirt, black tie, and black slacks he had on Lucy swore he looked like something right off the cover of _GQ magazine_.

The sound of Levy clearing her throat from off to her left along combined with Wendy's brother nervously rubbing the back of his neck in front of her made her realize that she was staring. Hard. Flustered at having been caught, especially since she had just hackled Levy about doing the same, she smoothed the non-existent wrinkles in her blouse and attempted to pull herself together.

"Oh! Uh, Mr. Dragneel! I'm so sorry I didn't see you standing there!" Both he and Levy chuckled (Levy more so snickering), and Lucy felt her face turning red all over again from not only embarrassment, but also the butterflies the sound of his laughter caused in her stomach.

"It's fine, really." He fell silent after that, his hands working their way through his hair before he shoved them into his pockets. Lucy moved to tuck some hair behind her ear until she realized her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Instead she settled with repositioning her purse in an attempt to keep her hands busy. "So, uh… what are you doing here?"

A slightly uncomfortable look crossed his face and for a second Lucy felt her stomach drop in dread. Was he coming to tell her he was pulling Wendy? She glanced backwards to give Levy a quick panicked look to which the blue-haired woman shrugged in response.

"I uh…I actually came to invite you over for dinner."

Lucy barely caught her mouth from falling open in shock at his comment. Dinner? He came up here to invite her over for dinner? When she noticed he wasn't really looking at her, she stole another glance at her friend only to find the same expression of shock on Levy's face. Her eyes swung back around just as his finally focused back on her.

The shiver that ran down her back when their eyes connected didn't really help the situation either.

"Mr. Dragneel…"

"Please, just call me Natsu. Think of it as my way of apologizing for what happened last week. Our first meeting wasn't the best, and I feel really bad about that. Besides, my sister seems to have taken a liking to you and I just thought… you know… it wouldn't hurt to at least get to know who my sister is hanging around with."

The grin that accompanied his explanation was so endearing and sexy that Lucy found herself nodding in acceptance of the invitation without even thinking about it. Honestly, she was so stunned at the complete one-eighty of the man in front of her that she couldn't do anything _but_ nod. Could this really be the same man she had met five days ago? At that point in time, with him smiling at her like that, she didn't trust her voice.

"Great! Are you free this weekend?" Again, not trusting her voice, Lucy nodded again in response. "Cool. I'll have Wen let you know what day and time as soon as we figure it out." A baritone-laced shout for Natsu to hurry up had the pink-haired male smiling sheepishly as he bid her goodbye and took off to a parked car on the curb. She watched, dumbfounded as he climbed in the driver's side and started the car back up, giving her a slight wave before pulling away and into the flow of traffic.

"So, that's the infamous Mr. Dragneel eh?" Lucy turned her attention on her friend and blinked a couple of times, still obviously confused by what had just happened. "Did I just agree to a dinner invitation?"

Levy laughed at the disbelief in Lucy's voice as she slapped a hand on her shoulder. "Yes you did! And you were so red in the face I thought your head was going to explode!" Levy laughed some more and Lucy groaned inwardly. She couldn't have been that bad, right?

"And you call _me_ a school girl! The way you were fidgeting and staring at him when he was talking to you… I could have sworn we were back in junior high or something!" Groaning audibly this time, Lucy hurried in the building, intent on running to her office and shutting herself in with Levy right on her heels. "Well will you look at that! I didn't even have to get involved!" Lucy's frown deepened as she and Levy entered the elevator.

"What am I going to do Levy? Isn't this a conflict of interest?"

Levy was thoughtful for a moment as they rode to the tenth floor in companionable silence. "Well, you're going to go over to his house for dinner. Technically, it's not a date as I'm sure his sister will be there. Plus, he said that he wanted to learn more about you because you're spending so much time with his sister, not in the other way…yet." The sly grin Levy threw at her had Lucy sighing yet again.

"I don't know…"

They rounded the corner and entered Lucy's office. Lucy sat down at her desk as Levy remained in the doorway. "You should just go. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to finally get on his good side would it?" Lucy picked up the blue stress ball on her desk and squeezed as she thought over Levy's logic and frowned when she realized that it was completely solid. She sighed in defeat and Levy smiled from ear to ear as she started making her way out, but paused to look back, catching Lucy's attention.

"Besides, look on the bright side of things; at least he's cute!"

Lucy threw the stress ball in her hand at her friend just as she shut the door. As much as she hated to admit it, Levy was right. Natsu was hot, but unfortunately for her, that could be a problem.

Especially if she was trying to keep things professional. Hopefully she can keep herself focused on business instead of pleasure at this dinner.

Hopefully.

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KTKG Says: Alright, that's it for now. Hopefully you guys are still interested in this! Please review and let me know!


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